Why do churches experience a leadership drought?

Posted on January 12, 2011
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(8) comments

Bob Franquiz asks that question at his blog today, and I think it's a great question. Bob's answer: because most churches have no system or plan in place to develop leaders. In fact, most churches want to do this, but that always get's placed on the back burner for more 'immediate needs'.

After all, we have to plan the next big outreach. But who is going to plan it?

There are two lines from Bob's post that I think every leader should think about today:

1. Leadership development isn't difficult to do. The challenge is... it's also NOT difficult to neglect.

2. Not developing leaders probably won't hurt you this week. It may not even bite you next week. But 3-6 months from now, you'll wish you had invested in those in your church.

A few years back, many churches went with an entirely staff-led model. And they are paying the price for it today.

The good news: you can start developing leaders today. Take someone to breakfast. Start a leadership Bible study. Include people in your planning and implementation. Ask.

You may not see the rewards today or next week, but you will in 3-6 months!

You can read more at BobFranquiz.com...

QUESTION: So... is this 'leadership development' thing over-rated? How is your church at leadership development? Do you have enough leaders to do all you want/need to do? How do you recruit and train leaders?

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Comments

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Dave on Wed, January 12, 2011

I do think leadership development is over-rated. It would seem that if one properly disciples men and women in his church, leadership is cultivated at the same time. Perhaps that’s naive of me to say, but I see discipleship as being the way Paul exhorts Timothy to build those under his care.
Dee on Wed, January 12, 2011

I’m looking at this issue from a different perspective these days. After being a lead pastor and executive pastor for 11 years, I’m back in the marketplace and being a “normal” church member. The search for a church home revealed a fact that is very painful for pastor’s to hear but the truth. A level 8 leader will never follow a level 5 leader for long. The other truth is there aren’t many great leaders serving as pastors. Good preachers and good chaplains but not leaders. I think this is the number one reason churches are losing leaders.
Dave on Wed, January 12, 2011

Is that a pride issue for someone who is a level 8 not to follow a level 5? I ask because I’m a very forceful leader myself and have had to take stock in my pride and how that has affected whom I will follow or not. I’m not accusing, Dee. I’m just asking.
Dee on Wed, January 12, 2011

actually I’m the 5 who used to lose 8’s.
Dave on Wed, January 12, 2011

Ok…I misunderstood then. I’m wondering what role pride played in people not sitting under your leadership. I understand that certain personality types or leadership styles get on well together…I’m a high-E ENTJ and I tend to attract certain people as friends.

But I can’t, in my future ministry chalk my communication all up to “just the way God made me,” right? The Church isn’t about a niche-market…it’s about proclaiming the forgiveness of sins in Christ. In view of that, how do we take what we know about leadership in one hand and in the other encourage them to recognize biblical leadership and the proper functioning of the Body as such?
Eric on Thu, January 13, 2011

I don’t think the leadership thing is overrated. My church is not good at leadership development. As a result I don’t have enough leaders. I have more than enough people with opinions and complaints. The focus of people is to keep a system the same whereas my focus is to grow and develop. I’ve been the pastor of my church a few years now and I’m now beginning some leadership development. My challenge is how do I go about it? But I think I am a bad leader if I don’t pursue this direction.
Dee on Thu, January 13, 2011

Eric,

FWIW, I’d suggest you not over-think the process. Pray and inentionally pick out two men in your church that have leadership potential, then approach them about doing an 8-week leadership training time with them. Meet once per week for 90 minutes, augmented by outside reading. When you’re finished, if they both are leaders, give them something to lead, then repeat the process.

Along the way, there’s a good chance you’ll uncover a leader of leaders, that’s who you hand off the process to, in conjunction with getting your current leaders to mentor other leaders. Within a couple of years, you’ll have leaders all over the place.
Michael Madeleine on Tue, January 25, 2011

I’ve seem two reasons for leadership neglecting mentoring another leader/pastor.
1. Job insecurity- he thinks he will lose a slice of the pie instead of seeing it as an opportunity to enlarge the pie.
2. I’m so busy I don’t have time to mentor anyone to help bear my burden.
How shallow to see the complimenters that God bring to help you, as an answer to your prayers, as a competiture.